Limited Access Computers

The computer you are using only accesses library resources. This includes our catalogs and our electronic subscription databases. For full Internet access please visit the Internet Access computers. Please ask staff for assistance.

Iran Contra Scandal

The Iran-Contra Scandal concerned the sale of armaments to moderate opponents of Ayatollah Khomeini by elements of the United States government. The sales were devised to have two outcomes. The first is to assist with the release of hostages held in Lebanon. The second was to create a funding source for arms purchases by the Contras fighting the Communist government in Nicaragua. At the time, the United States government was barred from providing arms to the Contras by law (Public Law 97-377). The event is summarized comedicly in the Family Guy episode “Stanny Slickers II: the Legend of Ollie’s Gold.”

When details of this arrangement became public, both the House of Representatives and the Senate began investigations into what had happened. Below are links to the digital copies of their findings. These are distinct from the work of the Tower Commission, which was appointed by the President.